The Dallas Mavericks blew out the Boston Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, avoiding being swept and making the series 3-1.

The contest was completely one-sided for the Mavericks from the first quarter as they outscored Boston in each of the four quarters. Though the team's star duo, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, combined to miss 13 of their 14 triples, the two scored 50 points together after dominating the paint. Doncic made 11 of his 16 field goals there while Irving went 9-for-11 below the free throw line.

Doncic was a much better defender on Friday night than he was in the previous three games by not only contributing three steals, but also working hard to stay in front of his defensive targets. As long as he didn't get beaten too easily from the perimeter, his teammates would have enough time to provide help and shut the Celtics down under the rim.

The Celtics were overwhelmed by the Mavericks in the paint in both production and efficiency. The home team made 30 of their 49 shots for 60 points in the paint. By contrast, the Celtics took only 33 attempts in this area and missed 20 of them to get no more than 26 points.

Such a huge gap came from the constant attacks by Doncic and Irving against the rim. One of the major reasons that they could break in without having to face multiple defenders was the great shooting performances by their teammates outside the 3-point line. P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., Tim Hardway Jr., Donte Exum, and Maxi Kleber combined to shoot 11-for-17 behind the arc. Even Dereck Lively II knocked down a triple.

The superb spacing the Mavericks' role players created for Doncic and Irving paved their way to the hoop. Meanwhile, the two distracted enough defensive attention to set up open buckets for Daniel Gafford and Lively II when they rolled in. Such combined offensive power from both the inside and the outside was so unstoppable that the Celtics threw in the towel early in the third quarter.

The Celtics saw their 10-game winning streak in the postseason end after suffering their first loss on the road in this year's playoffs. They only got 35 points in the first half, a record low since Joe Mazzulla became the team's head coach in 2022. They trailed by 26 points (61-35) in the first half, the fourth-biggest first-half deficit in NBA Finals history, and lost by the third-biggest gap of 38 points in the end.

Game 5 of the series will take place at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 17.